Brisbane Times wrote:The body of a male cyclist has been found on the side of a highway in southeast Queensland.

The man's body was discovered on the Warrego Highway, near Gatton, about 10am.

Police believe the man, thought to be aged in his 20s, was cycling along the highway sometime between 6pm and 8pm yesterday.

"It's unclear at this stage whether he has been hit by a vehicle," a police spokesman said.

"He did have injuries."

Police are awaiting the results of a post mortem examination.

Police are appealing for anyone who may have been travelling in the area last night and saw the man, or has information relating to the incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au

This one is in France, but not your standard type car vs bike, that's for sure.

Edit: And now they've found another survivor, a 4yo girl hiding under her dead mothers legs. That is really sad. I hope she is young enough to forget about it. I wonder if the cyclist just picked an unfortunate time to ride by

Child killed in cycling tragedyA boy has been killed after he was hit by a four-wheel-drive in central Albury this afternoon.The child, believed to have been 12, was riding a bike along a Wilson Street footpath when he was hit by a Nissan Patrol exiting the car park opposite Sodens Hotel about 1.45pm, police say.He suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene.The man driving the Patrol, a 58-year-old man from Bothwell in Tasmania, has been taken to Albury Base hospital for mandatory testing.AdvertisementA crime scene has been established and is being examined by specialist forensics officers.

"The 50 year old white Rock man was cycling on a mountain bike along Newell St at Bungalow about 3pm when he was struck by the garbage truck near the intersection with Mulgave rd." He died at the scene.

A NSW man who deliberately killed a cyclist by running him over in a van has been found not guilty of murder on the grounds of mental illness.

James Andrew Mitchell, 54, believed John Foss was part of a conspiracy to kill him when he ran him over as he rode his motorised bicycle near Mullumbimby in northern NSW on January 3 this year, the NSW Supreme Court heard today.

Handing down the special verdict, Justice Elizabeth Fullerton said she was satisfied Mitchell was suffering from a schizophrenic disorder when he deliberately knocked Mr Foss down.

The court heard Mitchell's behaviour had changed in the months prior to the incident and he started expressing a number of "extensive, delusional beliefs", including that he was the reincarnation of Napoleon's horse, had supernatural powers and was psychic.

As ridiculous as the outcome of this case is, this was an intention to kill someone who was known to the offender, not a random or road rage attack on a cyclist.

I can't stand this sort of ruling, being a firm believer in personal responsibility for one's actions. If the bloke truly is loopy he should still be locked up for a life as he cannot be trusted to think or behave rationally.

Oxford wrote:Interesting that they have removed the death from the road toll because it is a murder charge.

Wondered about that too. Do they have enough evidence to show this was premeditated?

according to the article, there was animosity between the men. just hypothesising, I think the driver saw an opportunity to "scare" this person and it went all pear shaped when he actually hit him. despite how I feel about the situation, I believe a charge of manslaughter will be the result, not murder.

then going back to my first comment, would that then be included or excluded in the road toll?

Whether he intended to do him in or not, the guy's dead. He did not stop to help. It's murder for me.

Supera - hit the road on your bike for 200 to 300kms a week and you will quickly change your tune. Too often sentences handed down for crimes committed whilst driving are woefully soft. People need to relax. Almost every car that comes up behind me is like the 2 cyclists who harassed ou, except the car weighs a 1,000 kgs.

The question with this case is why did the guy have a drivers licence? Can you get a ticket to operate heavy machinery when you are a head case... probably not, but driving - hey that is ok! What could possibly go wrong on the roads???

We laugh at America over its addiction to guns then we turn around and do the same with cars. How many kids will we wipe out over Xmas? NSW had a red hot go at hitting 400 deaths this year, but we stalled at 360ish... only 1 person every day. Hopefully with more motivation from D Meers and soft sentencing we can get closer to 400 for 2013.

Looking forward to a bumper year next year - just hope it is not my rear tyre on the bumper.

I actually agree with everything you've said - we're massively soft on drivers.

but that bloke had a severe mental illness. in an ideal world, obviously he wouldn't have a license - perhaps those closest to him now bare that burden, because the articles say it only set on in the monthe leading up the the death.

I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for the riders family, because they didn't get justice. but prison is no place for a schizophrenic.

Nut cases will often drive, license or not. We know some people who's son was brain-damaged in an industrial accident, the car had to be physically removed to stop him from driving (under the influence as well). Not enough left to reason with. Eventually he moved into supported accommodation, then was stabbed in the eye with a pair of scissors by another "inmate".

Hopes for a fatality-free Easter were dashed just two hours into the holiday road toll period when a cyclist was killed in South Canterbury last night.

The 55-year-old Temuka man died after a vehicle and bicycle collided at the intersection of Milford-Clandeboye Rd and Bain Rd near Temuka, north of Timaru, about 6pm yesterday.

The crash came just two hours after the start of the official Easter rod toll period.

Last year, there were no road deaths during Easter for the first time since records began 57 years ago.

Police had earlier called on drivers to make that happen again.

National road policing manager Superintendent Carey Griffiths said it would be outstanding if motorists helped "make history for a second time".

"Last Easter we showed that we all can make a very real difference by collectively watching our speed, wearing our seatbelts, not driving drunk and maintaining our concentration, particularly as more people travel away over the break."

Mr Griffiths said police would be a highly visible presence in urban and rural areas throughout the country over Easter.

They would focus on enforcing the lowered 4km/h speed tolerance, which applies during all holiday periods, as well as targeting drunk and dangerous driving.

In Canterbury, police have been targeting alcohol and speed, which caused three of the four fatal crashes in the region over the last five Easter weekends.

There were no fatalities in Canterbury over the last two Easter weekends.

Senior Sergeant Phil Newton of the Canterbury highway patrol yesterday said a review of crash data showed the highest risk periods for speed-related crashes were Thursday afternoon and Monday afternoon, when motorists would be travelling to and from holiday destinations.

"These times are when there are heavy volumes of traffic on the road. Drivers can become impatient and take more risks - putting themselves and other road users in danger."

He urged drivers to slow down, be patient and allow extra time for travel.

In the central North Island, police will be using a fixed-wing aircraft to monitor traffic flows and identify speeding vehicles.

Central District road policing manager Inspector Dave White said it had proved a useful tool in reducing risks over the Christmas and New Year period.

"It gives us a bird's eye view of what's happening on our highways and roads ... Anyone we identify doing anything that places other drivers at risk can expect to be caught."

In Otago, police are expecting large volumes of traffic travelling to and from Cromwell for the opening of the Highlands Motorsport Park, a new 4.5km racing circuit.

The track will be officially opened today and events will continue on Easter Sunday.

Southern District road policing manager Inspector Andrew Burns said police would be out in force to make sure everyone gets to their destination safely.

Waikato police will focus on driver fatigue, after a crash near Otorohanga on Monday in which tiredness was a suspected factor.

A couple visiting from the UK were injured when the car crossed the centre line of State Highway 3 and hit a bank, rolling onto its roof.

The woman driver suffered minor injuries while a passenger suffered serious injuries. He was recovering in a ward at Waikato Hospital.

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